One of the things I noticed about houses here vs home was the entry way. When I first got to my uncle’s I found the two-part front doorway interesting, but I thought maybe it was just specific to his neighbourhood, or a thing from the 1970’s, when his house and the ones around him were all built. But it seems it’s the same up here in Orkney.
Many, if not almost all houses have a front door that opens into a very small vestibule, with a second, often frosted glass, inner door. Both doors lock and in Uncle Ian’s neighbourhood in Carluke many people leave the outer front door wide open during the day, with the inner door closed and presumably locked. My house has exactly the same set-up, as do all of my neighbours, and I often see their outer doors ajar.
I really hadn’t given it any more thought until yesterday, when I heard my outer front door open, someone step inside, set down a package, and leave, all without calling out or ringing the bell. I had inadvertently left the outer door unlocked as we had just returned from a walk and I was going to go out and bring in a few things from the car. It seems this is how larger packages are delivered – no knock or doorbell to slow the process down, the postal worker just opens the door, drops the delivery, and heads off.
Very practical, but both Scout & I were a tad surprised at the time, to say the least.
Very practical. I wish all houses had this. It would be so great for our Canadian winters!